Shirke, Bindra slam arrangement

Ajay Shirke, who resigned his post as the BCCI Treasurer on Friday (May 31), was disappointed by N Srinivasan's decision to merely step aside after the working committee meeting on Sunday.

There was widespread speculation that the BCCI President would resign following the spot-fixing scandal that has hit India. However, in a hastily convened meeting after intense media pressure, the BCCI decided to appoint former chief Jagmohan Dalmiya as head of the working committee that would look at the day-to-day affairs instead of the Board president, who has 'stepped away' till a probe commission filed its report.

The decision taken at the meeting has not met with approval from Shirke, who said it was a worrying sign for the future.

"I am not only unhappy, I am extremely sad. I am at the same time extremely concerned about the future. We need a more credible explanation than just putting old wine in new bottles."

In fact, he was reportedly the only one with PCA chief IS Bindra who categorically asked Srinivasan to resign.

"Nobody except Mr Bindra and myself and a couple of others questioned this arrangement. At the end of the day, this has been carried through," Shirke said.

However, that claim was refuted by the president, who said there was no acrimony in the meeting and insisted that no one had asked him to resign.

Bindra was the first BCCI member who had asked Srinivasan to resign from his post after the arrest of his son-in-law and Chennai team principal Gurunath Meiyappan by Mumbai Police. On Sunday, the Punjab cricket strongman slammed the meeting as a sham: "It seemed like a pre-planned drama. I said it was a sham that will not satisfy the public."

Sanjay Jagdale, who had also resigned as Secretary along with Shirke felt the Board had lost a chance to clean the system.

"What hurt me during the meeting is we should have discussed the system and not just individuals. How to cleanse the system. And what wrong things have entered the game of cricket."